Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow said on Saturday the country’s outgoing leader Yahya Jammeh had no authority to reject the results of Dec.1. polls, while the United Nations and African Union piled pressure on Jammeh to step aside.
Long-ruling Jammeh on Friday called for another election in the tiny West African country after narrowly losing to opposition leader Adama Barrow, jeopardising what was expected to be Gambia’s first democratic transition of power in over 50 years. He had conceded defeat publicly last week.
The announcement on state television threw the future of the country of 1.8 million into doubt after the unexpected election result ended Jammeh’s authoritarian 22-year rule. It had been widely seen as a moment of democratic hope and a chance to end repression in a country known as a police state, reports Reuters.
“I open up a channel of communication to convince him to facilitate a smooth transfer of executive powers in the supreme interest of this country,” he said.
The streets of Banjul were calm on Saturday, although some residents said they were staying at home for fear of violence. A strong police presense remained on the streets.
Under chapter 5 of Gambia’s constitution, candidates have 10 days from the declaration of the results to appeal to the Supreme Court.
It was not immediately clear if Jammeh had done that.
As Gambians brace for a tense standoff, international criticism of Jammeh came in fast. Following the United States and Senegal, the African Union on Saturday weighed in, calling Jammeh’s statement “null and void”.
The U.N. and regional body ECOWAS called on the armed forces to stay neutral. Diplomats have voiced private concerns that a faction of security forces from Jammeh’s Jola ethnic minority might protect Jammeh, potentially provoking broader conflict along ethnic lines.
Senegal, which has Gambia’s only land border, has called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council and “solemnly” warned Jammeh not to harm Senegal’s interests or its citizens in Gambia.
ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations called jointly for all parties to “reject violence and peacefully uphold the will of the people”.
But in a sign that early mediation efforts are floundering, Senegal’s foreign minister said that Gambian authorities had refused entry to the chair of regional body ECOWAS.
